Systems configured to power at least one device disposed in a living subject, and related apparatuses and methods

ABSTRACT

Embodiments disclosed herein are directed to systems configured to power at least one device disposed in a living subject, apparatuses configured to be disposed in a living subject and export power stored in an energy-storage device, and related methods of powering at least one device disposed in the living subject.

CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS

The present application is related to and claims the benefit of theearliest available effective filing date(s) from the following listedapplication(s) (the “Related Applications”) (e.g., claims earliestavailable priority dates for other than provisional patent applicationsor claims benefits under 35 USC §119(e) for provisional patentapplications, for any and all parent, grandparent, great-grandparent,etc. applications of the Related Application(s)).

RELATED APPLICATIONS

For purposes of the USPTO extra-statutory requirements, the presentapplication constitutes a continuation-in-part of U.S. patentapplication Ser. No. 12/283,911, entitled SYSTEMS CONFIGURED TO TRANSMITOPTICAL POWER SIGNALS TRANSDERMALLY OUT OF A LIVING SUBJECT, AND DEVICESAND METHODS, naming RODERICK A. HYDE, MURIEL Y. ISHIKAWA, DENNIS J.RIVET, ELIZABETH A. SWEENEY, LOWELL L. WOOD, JR., AND VICTORIA Y. H.WOOD as inventors, filed 15 Sep. 2008, (now U.S. Pat. No. 8,340,777issued on 25 Dec. 2012) which is currently co-pending, or is anapplication of which a currently co-pending application is entitled tothe benefit of the filing date.

For purposes of the USPTO extra-statutory requirements, the presentapplication constitutes a continuation-in-part of U.S. patentapplication Ser. No. 12/316,811, entitled SYSTEMS CONFIGURED TO LOCATE APHOTONIC DEVICE, AND RELATED APPARATUSES AND METHODS, naming RODERICK A.HYDE, MURIEL Y. ISHIKAWA, DENNIS J. RIVET, LOWELL L. WOOD, JR., ANDVICTORIA Y. H. WOOD as inventors, filed 15 Dec. 2008, (now U.S. Pat. No.8,280,520 issued on 2 Oct. 2012) which is currently co-pending, or is anapplication of which a currently co-pending application is entitled tothe benefit of the filing date.

The United States Patent Office (USPTO) has published a notice to theeffect that the USPTO's computer programs require that patent applicantsreference both a serial number and indicate whether an application is acontinuation or continuation-in-part. Stephen G. Kunin, Benefit ofPrior-Filed Application, USPTO Official Gazette Mar. 18, 2003, availableat http://www.uspto.gov/web/offices/com/sol/log/2003/week11/patbene.htm.The present Applicant Entity (hereinafter “Applicant”) has providedabove a specific reference to the application(s) from which priority isbeing claimed as recited by statute. Applicant understands that thestatute is unambiguous in its specific reference language and does notrequire either a serial number or any characterization, such as“continuation” or “continuation-in-part,” for claiming priority to U.S.patent applications. Notwithstanding the foregoing, Applicantunderstands that the USPTO's computer programs have certain data entryrequirements, and hence Applicant is designating the present applicationas a continuation-in-part of its parent applications as set forth above,but expressly points out that such designations are not to be construedin any way as any type of commentary and/or admission as to whether ornot the present application contains any new matter in addition to thematter of its parent application(s).

All subject matter of the Related Applications and of any and allparent, grandparent, great-grandparent, etc. applications of the RelatedApplications is incorporated herein by reference to the extent suchsubject matter is not inconsistent herewith.

SUMMARY

In an embodiment, a system includes an optical-electrical converterconfigured to be disposed within a living subject, receive one or moreoptical power signals transmitted transdermally into the living subject,and convert the one or more optical power signals into electricalenergy. The system further includes a power conditioning unit configuredto be disposed within a living subject and coupled to theoptical-electrical converter to receive at least a portion of theelectrical energy therefrom. The power conditioning unit may be furtherconfigured to selectively condition the received at least a portion ofthe electrical energy into one or more electrical power signals.

In an embodiment, a method includes receiving one or more optical powersignals that are transmitted transdermally into a living subject, withan optical-electrical converter disposed within the living subject. Themethod also includes converting the one or more optical power signalsinto electrical energy using the optical-electrical converter. Themethod further includes selectively conditioning at least a portion ofthe electrical energy into one or more electrical power signals.

In an embodiment, a method includes transmitting one or moreconditioning signals to a signal converter or a power conditioning unitdisposed within a living subject. The method further includestransmitting one or more optical power signals transdermally into theliving subject and to an optical-electrical converter disposed therein.

In an embodiment, a system includes an optical-electrical converter, anenergy-storage device, and an electrical-optical converter. Theoptical-electrical converter may be configured to be disposed within aliving subject, receive one or more first optical signals transmittedtransdermally into the living subject, and convert the one or more firstoptical signals into electrical energy. The energy-storage device may beconfigured to be disposed within the living subject and coupled to theoptical-electrical converter to receive at least a portion of theelectrical energy therefrom. The energy-storage device may be furtherconfigured to store the at least a portion of the electrical energyreceived from the optical-electrical converter. The electrical-opticalconverter may be configured to be disposed within a living subject andcoupled to the energy-storage device. The electrical-optical convertermay be further configured to receive the at least a portion of theelectrical energy from the energy-storage device and convert the atleast a portion of the electrical energy into one or more second opticalsignals.

In an embodiment, a method includes receiving one or more first opticalsignals that are transmitted transdermally into a living subject, withan optical-electrical converter disposed within the living subject. Themethod also includes converting the one or more first optical signalsinto electrical energy with the optical-electrical converter. The methodadditionally includes storing at least a portion of the electricalenergy in an energy-storage device disposed within the living subject.The method further includes converting at least a portion of the storedelectrical energy into one or more second optical signals with anelectrical-optical converter disposed within the living subject.

In an embodiment, an apparatus configured for disposal within a livingsubject includes an optical-electrical converter, an energy-storagedevice, and at least one power exporter. The optical-electricalconverter may be configured to receive one or more optical power signalstransmitted transdermally into the living subject and convert one ormore optical power signals into electrical energy. The energy-storagedevice may be coupled to the optical-electrical converter to receive atleast a portion of the electrical energy therefrom. The energy-storagedevice may be further configured to store the at least a portion of theelectrical energy received from the optical-electrical converter. The atleast one power exporter may be coupled to the energy-storage device toreceive the at least a portion of the electrical energy and configuredto transmit the at least a portion of the electrical energy.

In an embodiment, a system includes an optical-electrical converter, anenergy-storage device, and at least one device. The optical-electricalconverter may be configured to be disposed within a living subject,receive one or more optical power signals transmitted transdermally intothe living subject, and convert one or more optical power signals intoelectrical energy. The energy-storage device may be configured to bedisposed within the living subject and coupled to the optical-electricalconverter to receive at least a portion of the electrical energytherefrom. The energy-storage device may be further configured to storethe at least a portion of the electrical energy received from theoptical-electrical converter. The at least one device may be configuredto be disposed within the living subject, and further configured to beoperably coupled to the energy-storage device to receive the at least aportion of the electrical energy therefrom.

In an embodiment, a method includes receiving one or more optical powersignals that are transmitted transdermally into a living subject, withan optical-electrical converter disposed within the living subject. Themethod also includes storing electrical energy generated by theoptical-electrical converter in an energy-storage device disposed withinthe living subject. The method further includes powering at least onedevice disposed within the living subject using at least a portion ofthe electrical energy.

The foregoing is a summary and thus may contain simplifications,generalizations, inclusions, and/or omissions of detail; consequently,the reader will appreciate that the summary is illustrative only and isNOT intended to be in any way limiting. Other aspects, features, andadvantages of the devices and/or processes and/or other subject matterdescribed herein will become apparent after reading the teachings setforth herein.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE FIGURES

FIG. 1A is a functional block diagram of an embodiment of a systemincluding an optical-electrical converter, and a power conditioning unitdisposed within a living subject and configured to selectively conditionelectrical energy received from the optical-electrical converter.

FIG. 1B is a functional block diagram of the system shown in FIG. 1A,with the power conditioning unit configured to selectively conditionelectrical energy received from the optical-electrical converterresponsive to one or more transdermally transmitted conditioningsignals.

FIG. 2 is a functional block diagram of an embodiment of a systemincluding an energy-storage device that stores electrical energy priorto transmission to a power conditioning unit.

FIG. 3 is a functional block diagram of an embodiment of a systemincluding an energy-storage device that routes power to at least onedevice via at least one power exporter.

FIG. 4 is a functional block diagram of an embodiment of a system thatconverts stored electrical energy to optical energy that may be routedto a selected location within a living subject to initiate release ofone or more therapeutic drugs.

FIG. 5 is a functional block diagram of an embodiment of a system thatconverts stored electrical energy to optical energy that may be routedto a selected location within a living subject to power at least onedevice disposed in the living subject.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

Embodiments disclosed herein are directed to systems configured to powerat least one device disposed in a living subject, apparatuses configuredto be disposed in a living subject and export power stored in anenergy-storage device, and related methods such as powering the at leastone device disposed in the living subject. Other embodiments disclosedherein are directed to systems and methods for converting storedelectrical energy to optical energy and transmitting such optical energyto a selected location within a living subject. In the followingdetailed description, reference is made to the accompanying drawings,which form a part hereof. In the drawings, similar symbols typicallyidentify similar components, unless context dictates otherwise. Theillustrative embodiments described in the detailed description,drawings, and claims are not meant to be limiting. Other embodiments maybe utilized, and other changes may be made, without departing from thespirit or scope of the subject matter presented herein.

FIG. 1A is a functional block diagram of an embodiment of a system 100including an optical-electrical converter, and a power conditioning unitdisposed within a living subject and configured to selectively conditionelectrical energy received from the optical-electrical converter.Referring to FIG. 1A, the system 100 includes a biocompatible apparatus102 configured to be disposed within a living subject 103, such as beingembedded, for example, in tissue, muscle, or bone of a human being. Theapparatus 102 includes an optical-electrical converter 104 (e.g., one ormore photodiodes), a power conditioning unit 106 coupled to receive andcondition electrical energy received from the optical-electricalconverter 104, at least one device 108 coupled to the power conditioningunit 106 to receive conditioned electrical energy therefrom, and controlelectrical circuitry 110 configured to control the operation of the atleast one device 108 and distribution of the conditioned electricalenergy thereto from the power conditioning unit 106.

The optical-electrical converter 104, power conditioning unit 106, atleast one device 108, and control electrical circuitry 110 may beconfigured to be disposed in the living subject 103, such as by beingsized for being disposed within the living subject 103 or biocompatiblewith the living subject 103. For example, the optical-electricalconverter 104, power conditioning unit 106, at least one device 108, andcontrol electrical circuitry 110 may be compactly enclosed in abiocompatible protective packaging 115 to package one or more componentsof the apparatus 102. In an embodiment, the optical-electrical converter104, power conditioning unit 106, at least one device 108, and controlelectrical circuitry 110 may each be individually enclosed in separatebiocompatible packaging sections.

The power conditioning unit 106 may include a DC-to-AC converter, anAC-to-DC converter, a DC-to-DC converter, or an AC-to-AC converter. Forexample, the DC-to-AC converter may convert the received electricalenergy from a DC waveform to an AC waveform, the AC-to-DC converter mayconvert the received electrical energy from an AC waveform to a DCwaveform, the DC-to-DC converter may convert the received electricalenergy from a first DC waveform to a different second DC waveform, andthe AC-to-AC converter may convert the received electrical energy from afirst AC waveform to a different second AC waveform.

The at least one device 108 may be configured as at least one of a drugdelivery device, a micro-electro-mechanical device, a bone extensiondevice, a biosensor, a heart pacemaker, a heart stimulator, aneurostimulator, or other suitable biomedical device. The controlelectrical circuitry 110 is configured to control distribution ofelectricity from the power conditioning unit 106 to the at least onedevice 110 as one or more conditioned electrical power signals 112 thatpower the at least one device 110. The control electrical circuitry 110may be powered by its own dedicated power source or may be configured touse a small amount of power from a common energy-storage device (notshown) for power. The at least one device 108 may be spatially separatefrom and not a component of the optical-electrical converter 104. Forexample, the at least one device 108 may disposed in a differentlocation of the living subject 103 and not packaged with theoptical-electrical converter 104, power conditioning unit 106, andcontrol electrical circuitry 110 and the at least one device 108 may notform part of the circuitry of the optical-electrical converter 104.

The system 100 may further include a selectively positionable externaloptical power device 114 (e.g., a hand-held device) located external tothe living subject 103. The external optical power device 114 includesan optical power source 116 (e.g., one or more light-emitting diodes,lasers, or other suitable light-emitting devices) configured to outputone or more optical power signals 118, control electrical circuitry 120coupled to the optical power source 116, and a user interface 122coupled to the control electrical circuitry 120. For example, the userinterface 122 may be configured as a keypad, touch screen, or othersuitable interface that allows the living subject 103 or other user tocontrol the operation of the external optical power device 114.

Still referring to FIG. 1A, in operation, the optical power source 116of the external optical power device 114 outputs the one or more opticalpower signals 118 as one or more electromagnetic beams at the livingsubject 103 that are transdermally transmitted through tissue of theliving subject 103, through the biocompatible protective packaging 115,and received by the optical-electrical converter 104. For example, theone or more optical power signals 118 may exhibit at least one infraredor visible peak wavelength that is transdermally transmittable throughtissue of the living subject 103. In an embodiment, theoptical-electrical converter 104 may be configured to selectivelyconvert specific wavelengths of the one or more optical power signals118 to electrical energy.

The one or more optical power signals 118 received by theoptical-electrical converter 104 are converted to electrical energy bythe optical-electrical converter 104. At least a portion of theelectrical energy may be transmitted to the power conditioning unit 106.The power conditioning unit 106 selectively conditions the received atleast a portion of the electrical energy to generate the one or moreconditioned electrical power signals 112, under the control of thecontrol electrical circuitry 110, for powering the at least one device108. For example, the power conditioning unit 106 may convert a DCwaveform to an AC waveform, an AC waveform to a DC waveform, a DCwaveform to a different DC waveform, or an AC waveform to a different ACwaveform depending on the type of waveform of the received at least aportion of the electrical energy or the configuration of the powerconditioning unit 106. In an embodiment, the one or more conditionedelectrical power signals 112 exhibit a frequency selected to limitinterference with other biomedical devices disposed in the livingsubject 103.

In an embodiment, the power conditioning unit 106 may selectivelycondition the at least a portion of the electrical energy received fromthe optical-electrical converter 104 in response to receivingconditioning instructions from the at least one device 108 or anotherdevice disposed in the living subject 103 separate from the at least onedevice 108. For example, the at least one device 108 may be configuredto periodically or continuously output such conditioning instructions tothe power conditioning unit 106 so that the power conditioning unit 106conditions the at least a portion of the electrical energy in a mannermost suitable for use by the at least one device 108.

As previously discussed, the optical-electrical converter 104, powerconditioning unit 106, at least one device 108, and control electricalcircuitry 110 may be enclosed in the biocompatible protective packaging115 that is at least partially transparent to the one or more opticalpower signals 118 output by the external optical power device 114. Thebiocompatible protective packaging 115 may be formed from a number ofdifferent biocompatible polymeric materials, such as at least one ofpolyxylene, polyethylene, poly(ethylene oxide), polyurethane, orpoly(butylene terephthalate). The biocompatible protective packaging 115may also be formed from a number of different biocompatible ceramics,such as silicate-based ceramics. In an embodiment, the biocompatibleprotective packaging 115 may be in the form of a biocompatible coatingmade from at least one of the aforementioned biocompatible polymeric orceramic materials and formed over a relatively less biocompatiblehousing that provides structural support for the biocompatible coatingor a housing formed from at least one of the aforementionedbiocompatible materials.

Referring to FIG. 1B, in an embodiment, the power conditioning unit 106may be configured to selectively condition the received electricalenergy in response to receiving one or more conditioning signalstransmitted transdermally into the living subject 103 thereto. Forexample, the power conditioning unit 106 may include anoptical-electrical signal converter 124 coupled to control electricalcircuitry 126 that controls the operation of the power conditioning unit106. In such an embodiment, the optical power source 116 of the externaloptical power device 114 may be configured to output one or moreconditioning signals 118′ that are transmitted transdermally into theliving subject 103, received by the power conditioning unit 106, andconverted by the optical-electrical signal converter 124 to one or moreelectrical conditioning signals (not shown). Under control of thecontrol electrical circuitry 126, the power conditioning unit 106 mayselectively condition the electrical energy received from theoptical-electrical signal converter 124 according to instructionsencoded in the one or more electrical conditioning signals. In anembodiment, the one or more conditioning signals 118′ may be transmittedsubstantially simultaneous with transmission of the one or more opticalpower signals 118. In an embodiment, the one or more conditioningsignals 118′ may be transmitted prior to transmission of the one or moreoptical power signals 118. In an embodiment, the one or moreconditioning signals 118′ may exhibit at least one of a peak wavelength,polarization, or time-profile that is different than that of the one ormore optical power signals 118.

In an embodiment, the optical-electrical signal converter 124 of thepower conditioning unit 106 may be replaced with a radio-frequencyreceiver device. In such an embodiment, the one or more conditioningsignals may be outputted from a separate radio-frequency transmitter ora radio-frequency transmitter integrated with the external optical powerdevice 114 as one or more radio-frequency signals encoding conditioninginstructions for the power conditioning unit 106. The radio-frequencyreceiver device outputs one or more conditioning electrical signals tothe power conditioning unit 106 in response to receiving the one or moreradio-frequency signals. In an embodiment, an ultrasound transducer orother signal converter may replace the optical-electrical signalconverter 124 and convert one or more ultrasound conditioning signals toone or more electrical conditioning signals.

In the illustrated embodiment shown in FIG. 1B, the power conditioningunit 106 includes a dedicated optical-electrical signal converter 124that receives and converts the one or more conditioning signals 118′ toone or more electrical conditioning signals. However, in anotherembodiment, the optical-electrical converter 104 may convert the one ormore conditioning signal 118′ to the one or more electrical conditioningsignals encoding conditioning instructions, which are transmitted to thepower conditioning unit 106 prior to the power conditioning unit 106conditioning the electrical energy converted from the one or moreoptical power signals 118.

FIG. 2 is a functional block diagram of an embodiment of a system 200including an energy-storage device that stores electrical energy priorto transmission to a power conditioning unit. The system includes abiocompatible apparatus 202 including an optical-electrical converter104, an energy-storage device 204, and a power conditioning unit 106disposed within the living subject 103 and coupled to the energy-storagedevice 204 to receive electrical energy therefrom. The components of theapparatus 202 may be collectively or individually housed in abiocompatible protective packaging 215 that is configured the same orsimilarly to the biocompatible protective packaging 115 of FIG. 1A. Theenergy-storage device 204 may be, for example, a capacitive device or abattery. The system 200 further includes control electrical circuitry206 operably coupled to the energy-storage device 204, the powerconditioning unit 106, and the at least one device 108. The controlelectrical circuitry 206 is configured to control distribution ofelectrical energy from the energy-storage device 204 and the operationof the power conditioning unit 106 and at least one device 108.

In operation, the optical power source 116 of the external optical powerdevice 114 outputs the one or more optical power signals 118 that aretransmitted transdermally into the living subject 103 and received bythe optical-electrical converter 104. The optical-electrical converter104 converts the one or more optical power signals 118 to electricalenergy that is stored by the energy-storage device 204. Theenergy-storage device 204 transmits one or more electrical power signals203 to the power conditioning unit 106 that selectively conditions theone or more electrical power signals 208 to generate one or moreconditioned electrical power signals 210 that power the at least onedevice 108.

In some embodiments, the power conditioning unit 106 of the apparatus202 may be configured to selectively condition the electrical energyreceived from the energy-storage device 204 in response to one or moreconditioning signals transmitted transdermally into the living subject103.

In the embodiment illustrated in FIG. 2, the power-conditioning unit 106conditions electrical energy received from the energy-storage device204. However, in an embodiment, the power conditioning unit 106 maycondition the electrical energy generated by the optical-electricalconverter 104. The conditioned electrical energy may be stored by theenergy-storage device 204 and output to the at least one device 108 asone or more electrical power signals having a selected waveform thatpower the at least one device 108.

FIG. 3 is a functional block diagram of an embodiment of a system 300including an energy-storage device that routes power to at least onedevice via at least one power exporter. The system 300 includes abiocompatible apparatus 302 disposed within the living subject 103 andhaving an optical-electrical converter 104, an energy-storage device 304(e.g., a capacitive device or a battery), at least one device 108coupled to the energy-storage device 304 via at least one power exporter306, and control electrical circuitry 308 configured to controldistribution of electrical power from the energy-storage device 304 andthe operation of the at least one device 108. The components of theapparatus 302 may be collectively or individually housed in abiocompatible protective packaging 315 that is configured the same orsimilarly to the biocompatible protective packaging 115 of FIG. 1A.

In operation, the optical power source 116 of the external optical powerdevice 114 outputs the one or more optical power signals 118 that aretransmitted transdermally into the living subject 103 and received bythe optical-electrical converter 104. The optical-electrical converter104 converts the one or more optical power signals 118 to electricalenergy that is stored by the energy-storage device 304. The storedelectrical energy may be transmitted to the at least one device 108 viathe at least one power exporter 306 under the control of the controlelectrical circuitry 308. For example, the at least one power exporter306 may be configured as one or more wires. In other embodiments, the atleast one power exporter 306 may include an electrical-optical converterthat converts the stored electrical energy and transmits it as one ormore optical power signals via one or more optical waveguides (e.g., oneor more optical fibers), or an electrical-acoustic converter thatconverts the stored electrical energy to acoustic energy and transmitsit as one or more acoustic power signals via an ultrasound transmitter.The control electrical circuitry 308 may further control the operationof the at least one device 108.

In another embodiment, a power conditioning unit may be coupled to theat least one power exporter 306 and the energy-storage device 304. Insuch an embodiment, the power conditioning unit may be configured toselectively condition at least a portion of the electrical energyreceived from the energy-storage device 304 and transmit the conditionedelectrical energy to the at least one power exporter 306 for exportingto the at least one device 108.

FIG. 4 is a functional block diagram of an embodiment of a system 400that converts stored electrical energy to optical energy that may berouted to a selected location within the living subject 103. The system400 includes a biocompatible apparatus 402 disposed within the livingsubject and having an optical-electrical converter 104, anenergy-storage device 404 that stores electrical energy received fromthe optical-electrical converter 104, and an electrical-opticalconverter 406 that converts stored electrical energy to optical energythat can initiate release of a therapeutic drug each of which isdisposed within the living subject 103. The components of the apparatus402 may be housed collectively or individually in a biocompatibleprotective packaging 415 that is configured the same or similarly to thebiocompatible protective packaging 115 of FIG. 1A.

The optical-electrical converter 104 is coupled to the energy-storagedevice 404 so that the energy-storage device 404 receives electricalenergy generated by converting the transdermally transmitted one or moreoptical power signals 118. The electrical-optical converter 406 iscoupled to receive at least a portion of the electrical energy from theenergy-storage device 404 and convert the at least a portion of theelectrical energy to one or more optical signals 410 (e.g., one or moreelectromagnetic beams). For example, the electrical-optical converter406 may include one or more light-emitting devices, such as one or morelight emitting diodes or one or more laser diodes. The one or moreoptical signals 410 may be transmitted to a selected location within theliving subject 103 via one or more optical waveguides 412, such as oneor more optical fibers. For example, the one or more optical waveguides412 may be disposed within a vein or other passageway of the livingsubject 103.

The system 400 further includes control electrical circuitry 408 that iscoupled to the energy-storage device 404 and the electrical-opticalconverter 406. The control electrical circuitry 408 is configured tocontrol distribution of the at least a portion of electrical energy fromthe energy-storage device 404 to the electrical-optical converter 406and the operation of the electrical-optical converter 406.

The system 400 may further include a beam director 414 configured todirect the one or more optical signals 410 in a selected direction asone or more beams 416 that are transmissive through the biocompatibleprotective packaging 415 and through tissue of the living subject 103.For example, the beam director 414 may be a diffractive element or anoptical scanner (e.g., a micro-electro-mechanical scanner). The one ormore beams 416 may be transmitted through the biocompatible protectivepackaging 415 to irradiate one or more therapeutic drugs 418 andinitiate release thereof. In an embodiment, the one or more beams 416may be focused using one or more optical elements (e.g., one or morelenses) prior to irradiating the therapeutic drug 418. For example, inan embodiment, the beam director 414 may be a MEMS scanner having a scanplate configured with optical power that can focus the one or moreoptical signals 410 and also scan the one or more optical signals 410across a field-of-view as the one or more beams 416.

In operation, the optical power source 116 of the optical power device114 outputs one or more optical power signals 118 that are transmittedtransdermally through the living subject 103, through the biocompatiblepackaging 415, and received by the optical-electrical converter 104. Theoptical-electrical converter 104 converts the one or more optical powersignals 118 to electrical energy that is received by and stored by theenergy-storage device 404. Under control of the control electricalcircuitry 408, at least a portion of the electrical energy stored by theenergy-storage device 404 is transmitted to the electrical-opticalconverter 406, which converts it to the one or more optical signals 410.The one or more optical signals 410 are guided by and output from theoptical waveguide 412. The beam director 414 directs the one or moreoptical signals 410 to irradiate the one or more therapeutic drugs 418to initiate release of one or more drugs or may irradiate an internalregion of the living subject 103 (e.g., to destroy a selected internalregion of the living subject 103).

FIG. 5 is a functional block diagram of an embodiment of a system 500that converts stored electrical energy to optical energy that may berouted to a selected location within the living subject 103 to power atleast one device disposed in the living subject 103. The system 500employs the same biocompatible apparatus 402 shown in the system 400depicted in FIG. 4. However, the one or more optical signals 416 may beused to power at least one device 502 disposed in the living subject.

The at least one device 502 may be configured as at least one of a drugdelivery device, a micro-electro-mechanical device, a bone extensiondevice, a biosensor, a heart pacemaker, a heart stimulator, aneurostimulator, or other suitable biomedical device. The at least onedevice 502 includes an optical-electrical converter 504 (e.g., one ormore photodiodes), control electrical circuitry 506, and a power system508.

In operation, the optical-electrical converter 504 receives and convertsthe one or more optical signals 416 output from the beam director 414 toone or more electrical power signals. The one or more electrical powersignals power the power system 508 of the at least one device 502.

The reader will recognize that the state of the art has progressed tothe point where there is little distinction left between hardware andsoftware implementations of aspects of systems; the use of hardware orsoftware is generally (but not always, in that in certain contexts thechoice between hardware and software can become significant) a designchoice representing cost vs. efficiency tradeoffs. The reader willappreciate that there are various vehicles by which processes and/orsystems and/or other technologies described herein can be effected(e.g., hardware, software, and/or firmware), and that the preferredvehicle will vary with the context in which the processes and/or systemsand/or other technologies are deployed. For example, if an implementerdetermines that speed and accuracy are paramount, the implementer mayopt for a mainly hardware and/or firmware vehicle; alternatively, ifflexibility is paramount, the implementer may opt for a mainly softwareimplementation; or, yet again alternatively, the implementer may opt forsome combination of hardware, software, and/or firmware. Hence, thereare several possible vehicles by which the processes and/or devicesand/or other technologies described herein may be effected, none ofwhich is inherently superior to the other in that any vehicle to beutilized is a choice dependent upon the context in which the vehiclewill be deployed and the specific concerns (e.g., speed, flexibility, orpredictability) of the implementer, any of which may vary. The readerwill recognize that optical aspects of implementations will typicallyemploy optically-oriented hardware, software, and or firmware.

The foregoing detailed description has set forth various embodiments ofthe devices and/or processes via the use of block diagrams, flowcharts,and/or examples. Insofar as such block diagrams, flowcharts, and/orexamples contain one or more functions and/or operations, it will beunderstood by those within the art that each function and/or operationwithin such block diagrams, flowcharts, or examples can be implemented,individually and/or collectively, by a wide range of hardware, software,firmware, or virtually any combination thereof. In one embodiment,several portions of the subject matter described herein may beimplemented via Application Specific Integrated Circuits (ASICs), FieldProgrammable Gate Arrays (FPGAs), digital signal processors (DSPs), orother integrated formats. However, those skilled in the art willrecognize that some aspects of the embodiments disclosed herein, inwhole or in part, can be equivalently implemented in integratedcircuits, as one or more computer programs running on one or morecomputers (e.g., as one or more programs running on one or more computersystems), as one or more programs running on one or more processors(e.g., as one or more programs running on one or more microprocessors),as firmware, or as virtually any combination thereof, and that designingthe circuitry and/or writing the code for the software and or firmwarewould be well within the skill of one of skill in the art in light ofthis disclosure. In addition, the reader will appreciate that themechanisms of the subject matter described herein are capable of beingdistributed as a program product in a variety of forms, and that anillustrative embodiment of the subject matter described herein appliesregardless of the particular type of signal bearing medium used toactually carry out the distribution. Examples of a signal bearing mediuminclude, but are not limited to, the following: a recordable type mediumsuch as a floppy disk, a hard disk drive, a Compact Disc (CD), a DigitalVideo Disk (DVD), a digital tape, a computer memory, etc.; and atransmission type medium such as a digital and/or an analogcommunication medium (e.g., a fiber optic cable, a waveguide, a wiredcommunications link, a wireless communication link, etc.).

In a general sense, the various embodiments described herein can beimplemented, individually and/or collectively, by various types ofelectro-mechanical systems having a wide range of electrical componentssuch as hardware, software, firmware, or virtually any combinationthereof; and a wide range of components that may impart mechanical forceor motion such as rigid bodies, spring or torsional bodies, hydraulics,and electro-magnetically actuated devices, or virtually any combinationthereof. Consequently, as used herein “electro-mechanical system”includes, but is not limited to, electrical circuitry operably coupledwith a transducer (e.g., an actuator, a motor, a piezoelectric crystal,etc.), electrical circuitry having at least one discrete electricalcircuit, electrical circuitry having at least one integrated circuit,electrical circuitry having at least one application specific integratedcircuit, electrical circuitry forming a general purpose computing deviceconfigured by a computer program (e.g., a general purpose computerconfigured by a computer program which at least partially carries outprocesses and/or devices described herein, or a microprocessorconfigured by a computer program which at least partially carries outprocesses and/or devices described herein), electrical circuitry forminga memory device (e.g., forms of random access memory), electricalcircuitry forming a communications device (e.g., a modem, communicationsswitch, or optical-electrical equipment), and any non-electrical analogthereto, such as optical or other analogs. Those skilled in the art willalso appreciate that examples of electro-mechanical systems include butare not limited to a variety of consumer electronics systems, as well asother systems such as motorized transport systems, factory automationsystems, security systems, and communication/computing systems. Thoseskilled in the art will recognize that electro-mechanical as used hereinis not necessarily limited to a system that has both electrical andmechanical actuation except as context may dictate otherwise.

In a general sense, the various aspects described herein which can beimplemented, individually and/or collectively, by a wide range ofhardware, software, firmware, or any combination thereof can be viewedas being composed of various types of “electrical circuitry.”Consequently, as used herein “electrical circuitry” includes, but is notlimited to, electrical circuitry having at least one discrete electricalcircuit, electrical circuitry having at least one integrated circuit,electrical circuitry having at least one application specific integratedcircuit, electrical circuitry forming a general purpose computing deviceconfigured by a computer program (e.g., a general purpose computerconfigured by a computer program which at least partially carries outprocesses and/or devices described herein, or a microprocessorconfigured by a computer program which at least partially carries outprocesses and/or devices described herein), electrical circuitry forminga memory device (e.g., forms of random access memory), and/or electricalcircuitry forming a communications device (e.g., a modem, communicationsswitch, or optical-electrical equipment). The subject matter describedherein may be implemented in an analog or digital fashion or somecombination thereof.

The herein described components (e.g., steps), devices, and objects andthe discussion accompanying them are used as examples for the sake ofconceptual clarity. Consequently, as used herein, the specific exemplarsset forth and the accompanying discussion are intended to berepresentative of their more general classes. In general, use of anyspecific exemplar herein is also intended to be representative of itsclass, and the non-inclusion of such specific components (e.g., steps),devices, and objects herein should not be taken as indicating thatlimitation is desired.

With respect to the use of substantially any plural and/or singularterms herein, the reader can translate from the plural to the singularand/or from the singular to the plural as is appropriate to the contextand/or application. The various singular/plural permutations are notexpressly set forth herein for sake of clarity.

The herein described subject matter sometimes illustrates differentcomponents contained within, or connected with, different othercomponents. It is to be understood that such depicted architectures aremerely exemplary, and that in fact many other architectures can beimplemented which achieve the same functionality. In a conceptual sense,any arrangement of components to achieve the same functionality iseffectively “associated” such that the desired functionality isachieved. Hence, any two components herein combined to achieve aparticular functionality can be seen as “associated with” each othersuch that the desired functionality is achieved, irrespective ofarchitectures or intermedial components. Likewise, any two components soassociated can also be viewed as being “operably connected,” or“operably coupled,” to each other to achieve the desired functionality,and any two components capable of being so associated can also be viewedas being “operably couplable,” to each other to achieve the desiredfunctionality. Specific examples of operably couplable include but arenot limited to physically mateable and/or physically interactingcomponents and/or wirelessly interactable and/or wirelessly interactingcomponents and/or logically interacting and/or logically interactablecomponents.

In some instances, one or more components may be referred to herein as“configured to.” The reader will recognize that “configured to” cangenerally encompass active-state components and/or inactive-statecomponents and/or standby-state components, etc. unless context requiresotherwise.

In some instances, one or more components may be referred to herein as“configured to.” The reader will recognize that “configured to” cangenerally encompass active-state components and/or inactive-statecomponents and/or standby-state components, unless context requiresotherwise.

While particular aspects of the present subject matter described hereinhave been shown and described, it will be apparent to those skilled inthe art that, based upon the teachings herein, changes and modificationsmay be made without departing from the subject matter described hereinand its broader aspects and, therefore, the appended claims are toencompass within their scope all such changes and modifications as arewithin the true spirit and scope of the subject matter described herein.Furthermore, it is to be understood that the invention is defined by theappended claims. In general, terms used herein, and especially in theappended claims (e.g., bodies of the appended claims) are generallyintended as “open” terms (e.g., the term “including” should beinterpreted as “including but not limited to,” the term “having” shouldbe interpreted as “having at least,” the term “includes” should beinterpreted as “includes but is not limited to,” etc.). It will befurther understood by those within the art that if a specific number ofan introduced claim recitation is intended, such an intent will beexplicitly recited in the claim, and in the absence of such recitationno such intent is present. For example, as an aid to understanding, thefollowing appended claims may contain usage of the introductory phrases“at least one” and “one or more” to introduce claim recitations.However, the use of such phrases should not be construed to imply thatthe introduction of a claim recitation by the indefinite articles “a” or“an” limits any particular claim containing such introduced claimrecitation to inventions containing only one such recitation, even whenthe same claim includes the introductory phrases “one or more” or “atleast one” and indefinite articles such as “a” or “an” (e.g., “a” and/or“an” should typically be interpreted to mean “at least one” or “one ormore”); the same holds true for the use of definite articles used tointroduce claim recitations. In addition, even if a specific number ofan introduced claim recitation is explicitly recited, such recitationshould typically be interpreted to mean at least the recited number(e.g., the bare recitation of “two recitations,” without othermodifiers, typically means at least two recitations, or two or morerecitations). Furthermore, in those instances where a conventionanalogous to “at least one of A, B, and C, etc.” is used, in generalsuch a construction is intended in the sense the convention (e.g., “asystem having at least one of A, B, and C” would include but not belimited to systems that have A alone, B alone, C alone, A and Btogether, A and C together, B and C together, and/or A, B, and Ctogether, etc.). In those instances where a convention analogous to “atleast one of A, B, or C, etc.” is used, in general such a constructionis intended in the sense the convention (e.g., “a system having at leastone of A, B, or C” would include but not be limited to systems that haveA alone, B alone, C alone, A and B together, A and C together, B and Ctogether, and/or A, B, and C together, etc.). Virtually any disjunctiveword and/or phrase presenting two or more alternative terms, whether inthe description, claims, or drawings, should be understood tocontemplate the possibilities of including one of the terms, either ofthe terms, or both terms. For example, the phrase “A or B” will beunderstood to include the possibilities of “A” or “B” or “A and B.”

With respect to the appended claims, the recited operations therein maygenerally be performed in any order. Examples of such alternateorderings may include overlapping, interleaved, interrupted, reordered,incremental, preparatory, supplemental, simultaneous, reverse, or othervariant orderings, unless context dictates otherwise. With respect tocontext, even terms like “responsive to,” “related to,” or otherpast-tense adjectives are generally not intended to exclude suchvariants, unless context dictates otherwise.

While various aspects and embodiments have been disclosed herein, thevarious aspects and embodiments disclosed herein are for purposes ofillustration and are not intended to be limiting, with the true scopeand spirit being indicated by the following claims.

What is claimed is:
 1. A method, comprising: transmitting one or moreoptical power signals transdermally into a living subject and to anoptical-electrical converter disposed therein; and transmitting one ormore conditioning signals transdermally to a signal converter or a powerconditioning unit disposed within the living subject, the one or moreconditioning signals including information encoded therein indicating amanner in which one or more electrical signals converted by theoptical-electrical converter from the one or more optical power signalsare to be conditioned by the power conditioning unit.
 2. The method ofclaim 1, wherein transmitting one or more conditioning signalstransdermally to a signal converter or a power conditioning unitdisposed within a living subject includes optically transmitting the oneor more conditioning signals transdermally to an optical-electricalconverter.
 3. The method of claim 1, wherein transmitting one or moreconditioning signals to a signal converter or a power conditioning unitdisposed within a living subject includes transmitting the one or moreconditioning signals from a device disposed in the living subject. 4.The method of claim 1, wherein the transmitting the one or moreconditioning signals occurs substantially simultaneously with thetransmitting the one or more optical power signals.
 5. The method ofclaim 1, wherein the transmitting the one or more conditioning signalsoccurs at a different time than the transmitting the one or more opticalpower signals.
 6. The method of claim 1, wherein the one or moreconditioning signals are one or more optical conditioning signals. 7.The method of claim 6, wherein the one or more optical conditioningsignals exhibit at least one of a wavelength, polarization, ortime-profile that is different from the one or more optical powersignals.
 8. The method of claim 6, wherein the one or more opticalconditioning signals exhibit at least one infrared or visible peakwavelength.
 9. The method of claim 1, wherein the one or more opticalpower signals exhibit at least one infrared or visible peak wavelength.10. The method of claim 1, wherein the one or more conditioning signalsare at least one of one or more radio-frequency conditioning signals,one or more ultrasound conditioning signals, one or more electricalsignals, or one or more optical signals.
 11. A method comprising:transmitting one or more conditioning signals transdermally to a signalconverter or a power conditioning unit disposed within a living subject,the one or more conditioning signals encoding information including amanner in which one or more optical power signals are converted intoelectrical energy; transmitting the one or more optical power signalstransdermally into the living subject and to an optical-electricalconverter disposed therein; and converting the one or more optical powersignals into electrical energy in the optical-electrical converteraccording to the information encoded in the one or more conditioningsignals; wherein one or more of the signal converter, power converter,or optical-electrical converter are enclosed within a biocompatiblepackaging.
 12. The method of claim 11, further comprising storing theelectrical energy prior to transmission to the power conditioning unit.13. The method of claim 12, wherein storing the electrical energy priorto transmission to the power conditioning unit includes storing at leasta portion of the electrical energy with an energy-storage deviceoperably coupled to the optical-electrical energy converter.
 14. Themethod of claim 11, further comprising powering at least one devicedisposed within the living subject using at least a portion of theelectrical energy.
 15. The method of claim 14, wherein the at least onedevice is enclosed within biocompatible packaging.
 16. The method ofclaim 11, wherein the biocompatible packaging encloses each of thesignal converter, the power converter, and the optical-electricalconverter.
 17. A method comprising: transmitting one or moreconditioning signals transdermally to a signal converter or a powerconditioning unit disposed within a living subject; converting the oneor more conditioning signals into electrical conditioning signalsencoding instructions for conditioning one or more optical power signalsinto electrical energy; and transmitting the one or more optical powersignals transdermally into the living subject and to anoptical-electrical converter disposed therein; wherein one or more ofthe signal converter, power converter, or optical-electrical converterare enclosed within a biocompatible packaging.
 18. The method of claim17, wherein the signal converter includes an optical-electricaltransducer, and wherein converting the one or more conditioning signalsinto electrical conditioning signals includes converting the one or moreconditioning signals into electrical conditioning signals using theoptical-electrical signal converter.
 19. The method of claim 18, whereinthe optical-electrical signal converter and the optical-electricalconverter are the same device.
 20. The method of claim 17, wherein thesignal converter includes an ultrasound transducer, and whereinconverting the one or more conditioning signals into electricalconditioning signals includes converting the one or more conditioningsignals into electrical conditioning signals using the ultrasoundtransducer.
 21. The method of claim 17, wherein the one or moreconditioning signals include one or more optical conditioning signalsexhibiting at least one of a wavelength, polarization, or time-profilethat is different from the one or more optical power signals.